Wow wee oh my - trying to hack away at my £54k debt (was even about to book a holiday)

enthusiasticsaver

I use clear checkbook app to record all my spends and it categorises them so you can see at a glance where we have spent out.  As a comparison this was October for you but presumably the eating out, hair and travel should not have been paid out this month.  Presumably not the Yoga either? 
Yoga - £58
Hair - £81
Cleaner - £160
Transport (petrol and train) - £40
Gift for nephew - £10
Meals out, cafe lunches and coffees - £146
Food - £395 (some of this was shares with my brother)
Total was £892

Rainbowtrousers

ryanm8655 said:

Rainbowtrousers said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

I thought the other day I hadn't seen you so I am glad you are keeping roughly to the budget.  It will be a lifestyle change but it looks like you are making a few changes already which will help.  That is great. Do you really need new clothes?  Most people only wear a small proportion of their wardrobe over and over again so you could probably go for 6 months or longer without buying anything.  Really thinking about every purchase makes a difference. 

Thanks to you and WM for posting. I can feel my attitude changing and I’m taking time in the supermarket and shopping round for the best deals. Regarding the clothes, I haven’t actually bought any new clothes. I am genuinely interested to see where the cash has gone as I really feel like I have done nothing this month and probably had the most controlled week I’ve ever had! Watch this space. The lifestyle change has to hurt a little I imagine but much better than the constant ups and downs in the long run. Also thinking long term, the way I was running my life really want sustainable even though I felt like I was being ambitious at the time! 

Definitely worth going through the bank statement and adding things up to see...some apps even do it for you (my account does though I always use credit card and pay in full for the points).

Budgeting isn’t easy but it will get better with time. Plus once the debt is gone you’ll have freed up extra income.

Can also explore options to increase your income to get over the pain sooner.

I find the distraction of being busy at work makes a big difference. If you could add something free to keep you busy in your leisure time then that could help distract you from spending. I signed up for the marathon for that reason, though it didn’t help as I’d finish the run at a restaurant

Keep it going.

Thanks for the encouragement. I will 100% go through the statements and post here what I have spent my cash on. I hope it just becomes second nature after a while. I tell friends that I’m budgeting and get this bewildered look that you’d give someone that was very late to the game !!!!

Rainbowtrousers

enthusiasticsaver said:

I use clear checkbook app to record all my spends and it categorises them so you can see at a glance where we have spent out.  As a comparison this was October for you but presumably the eating out, hair and travel should not have been paid out this month.  Presumably not the Yoga either? 
Yoga - £58
Hair - £81
Cleaner - £160
Transport (petrol and train) - £40
Gift for nephew - £10
Meals out, cafe lunches and coffees - £146
Food - £395 (some of this was shares with my brother)
Total was £892

Monzo seems to be good for that too. I will check out your suggestion. This month I did pay for yoga even though I did not use it. I guess then I have not technically gone 50 over budget. You’re right there has been no eating out or the haircut. I did have my chimney swept (£65) but that’s really the only thing I can think of. I think most has gone on food but some things like Mayo and tinned tomatoes were on offer so I stocked up. It’s truly been eye opening to go out of my way to save and still spend close to what I think seems like a very generous budget. I’ll post the breakdown here at the end of the month. In terms of paying the debt off part of me still thinks releasing some cash to pay the lot off but I know thats not the right way to go deep down. Have to say so much great encouragement on here from people that have come out the other end!

berries

Rainbowtrousers said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

I use clear checkbook app to record all my spends and it categorises them so you can see at a glance where we have spent out.  As a comparison this was October for you but presumably the eating out, hair and travel should not have been paid out this month.  Presumably not the Yoga either? 
Yoga - £58
Hair - £81
Cleaner - £160
Transport (petrol and train) - £40
Gift for nephew - £10
Meals out, cafe lunches and coffees - £146
Food - £395 (some of this was shares with my brother)
Total was £892

Monzo seems to be good for that too. I will check out your suggestion. This month I did pay for yoga even though I did not use it. I guess then I have not technically gone 50 over budget. You’re right there has been no eating out or the haircut. I did have my chimney swept (£65) but that’s really the only thing I can think of. I think most has gone on food but some things like Mayo and tinned tomatoes were on offer so I stocked up. It’s truly been eye opening to go out of my way to save and still spend close to what I think seems like a very generous budget. I’ll post the breakdown here at the end of the month. In terms of paying the debt off part of me still thinks releasing some cash to pay the lot off but I know thats not the right way to go deep down. Have to say so much great encouragement on here from people that have come out the other end!

Well done with it all. Have you thought about getting chimney brushes and sweep it out your self?? 
A friend shown me how to do it so now I sweep it out every 6 months. If you do it make sure the rods are done up tight as I lost half of mine up in the chimney!!! That was a pain in the a$@#! To get back down!!!
Do you use a separate account for personal spending?? 

EssexOstrich

You might already know this but www.feelgoodcontacts.com are brilliant for contact lenses. I’ve been getting mine from there for a couple of years now, usually next day delivery. You can google your branded lenses to find out their pharmaceutical name and get them a lot lot cheaper. I’m on monthly lenses and pay £15 for 3 months supply and then buy a big bottle of solution from Superdrug for about £2. 

Rainbowtrousers

berries said:

Rainbowtrousers said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

I use clear checkbook app to record all my spends and it categorises them so you can see at a glance where we have spent out.  As a comparison this was October for you but presumably the eating out, hair and travel should not have been paid out this month.  Presumably not the Yoga either? 
Yoga - £58
Hair - £81
Cleaner - £160
Transport (petrol and train) - £40
Gift for nephew - £10
Meals out, cafe lunches and coffees - £146
Food - £395 (some of this was shares with my brother)
Total was £892

Monzo seems to be good for that too. I will check out your suggestion. This month I did pay for yoga even though I did not use it. I guess then I have not technically gone 50 over budget. You’re right there has been no eating out or the haircut. I did have my chimney swept (£65) but that’s really the only thing I can think of. I think most has gone on food but some things like Mayo and tinned tomatoes were on offer so I stocked up. It’s truly been eye opening to go out of my way to save and still spend close to what I think seems like a very generous budget. I’ll post the breakdown here at the end of the month. In terms of paying the debt off part of me still thinks releasing some cash to pay the lot off but I know thats not the right way to go deep down. Have to say so much great encouragement on here from people that have come out the other end!

Well done with it all. Have you thought about getting chimney brushes and sweep it out your self?? 
A friend shown me how to do it so now I sweep it out every 6 months. If you do it make sure the rods are done up tight as I lost half of mine up in the chimney!!! That was a pain in the a$@#! To get back down!!!
Do you use a separate account for personal spending?? 

Thanks for the tip but I only have it swept every other year but will research how much the brushes cost. Yes so every month I transfer 850 to my monzo spending account. My main account is with Barclays (where all my bills go in and out of) and I don’t touch that for anything.  you are doing 10 consecutive no spend days? 

Rainbowtrousers

EssexOstrich said:

You might already know this but www.feelgoodcontacts.com are brilliant for contact lenses. I’ve been getting mine from there for a couple of years now, usually next day delivery. You can google your branded lenses to find out their pharmaceutical name and get them a lot lot cheaper. I’m on monthly lenses and pay £15 for 3 months supply and then buy a big bottle of solution from Superdrug for about £2. 

That’s crazy cheap. And they are the same? I’ll check them out. I have dailies. How did you manage to pay so much debt off please? That’s a lot of $$$$$

stymied

It sounds like you’ve made a good start @Rainbowtrousers with changing your mindset about the debt, cutting out some expenses and setting a budget. As you’ve said the next step is working out where the spends are going and making a realistic budget that you can stick to and still make the minimum payments or more plus raising your income by taking on extra work, selling stuff or letting all or part of your home. I did wonder if you could split any extra income into half for the debt and half for the holidays pot - might be more motivating to accept the discomfort if it’s for something you really want?

What happened with the friend who was interested in renting your place? Would they be willing to pay the market rate? Could you live for a few months in Brighton and still maintain your current job or is that more for the odd weekend? Is the extra work still available pre-Christmas? Think how nice it would be to pay for Christmas without putting any more on the cards.
You’re doing brilliantly, keep going!

EssexOstrich

Rainbowtrousers said:That’s crazy cheap. And they are the same? I’ll check them out. I have dailies. How did you manage to pay so much debt off please? That’s a lot of $$$$$

Yep they’re the same. They also sell them in the branded boxes but not sure on prices. As for paying off the debt, it’s mostly thanks to lockdown and not being able to go on holiday! Otherwise I’d have been slightly more buggered...

Rainbowtrousers

stymied said:

It sounds like you’ve made a good start @Rainbowtrousers with changing your mindset about the debt, cutting out some expenses and setting a budget. As you’ve said the next step is working out where the spends are going and making a realistic budget that you can stick to and still make the minimum payments or more plus raising your income by taking on extra work, selling stuff or letting all or part of your home. I did wonder if you could split any extra income into half for the debt and half for the holidays pot - might be more motivating to accept the discomfort if it’s for something you really want?

What happened with the friend who was interested in renting your place? Would they be willing to pay the market rate? Could you live for a few months in Brighton and still maintain your current job or is that more for the odd weekend? Is the extra work still available pre-Christmas? Think how nice it would be to pay for Christmas without putting any more on the cards.
You’re doing brilliantly, keep going!

I like the idea of splitting some of the room rent cash (if I actually do that!) as I am finding at the moment it is all debt pay off with nothing for fun. Great idea, thanks.

I am starting to realise there are some wider positive things to come from this. I am now setting myself some goals and starting to think about what I want long term. Before I just said yes to everything regardless of the cost or consequence!

So i have taken on some extra work and that is likely to last until march next year. It should mean being able to pay off both credit cards and part of my car finance. Both ccs are currently 0% but that ends in May and Sept of next year.

I could rent my whole place but put that idea on hold as it is a bit unsettling at the moment with the two jobs etc.

Going to post my spend for last month now and would welcome any suggestions